


Crazy Little Thing Called Love

by dreamfleet, mezmerize



Series: Somebody to Love [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Christmas Fluff, Family, Finn is a Happy Muffin, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-13
Updated: 2017-12-13
Packaged: 2019-02-14 04:55:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13000314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamfleet/pseuds/dreamfleet, https://archiveofourown.org/users/mezmerize/pseuds/mezmerize
Summary: “A toy from Coco doesn’t say ‘you’re here forever and we all love you a bunch and aren’t going to give you back,’” Bea’s frown stays firmly in place even as she flips back around to walk at Finn’s side. “It says ‘here’s a toy from Coco,’ and that’s not enough.”Or, Christmas with the Dameron-Williams family.





	Crazy Little Thing Called Love

“What if we got him his own puppy?” Bea skips along next to Finn over the slick tile, her eyes roving hungrily over the displays they’re passing. “’Cause Pepper’s mine, so then he’d feel like he had his own thing! Oh,” she gasps and whirls to walk backwards in front of him, “or a pony! Or two ponies so we don’t have to share one pony!”

“I think you’re gonna need to share Pepper,” Finn says with a laugh, squeezing her hand to keep her from tripping backwards, “Theo isn’t old enough to have his own puppy yet, and neither of you is responsible enough for a pony.”

“I’m responsible enough for a pony,” Bea’s mouth tugs into a pouty frown. “I turned in my last essay early.”

“Writing an essay is very different from taking care of an animal that weighs more than you,” Finn reminds her gently, “how about… I don’t know. He likes Coco too, maybe a toy from that?”

“A toy from Coco doesn’t say ‘you’re here forever and we all love you a bunch and aren’t going to give you back,’” Bea’s frown stays firmly in place even as she flips back around to walk at Finn’s side. “It says ‘here’s a toy from Coco,’ and that’s not enough.”

Finn watches her with a soft smile. It always astounds him how thoughtful and intelligent Bea is. How she can comprehend and express things so much more eloquently than he, a nearly-30 year old man, can’t.

“You’re right,” he says softly, “okay, lets set aside live animals. What do you think says that?”

“Ponies,” Bea mumbles, but she gives up that line of thought a few seconds later, humming quietly. “I don’t know. Maybe a hundred dollars?”

“A hundred dollars says, ‘I’ll always love you, you belong here?’” Finn asks, a hand light on Bea’s shoulder.

“Well, then you take him to Target and he picks his thing,” Bea starts, but she huffs and crosses both her arms. “No, that’s stupid. I don’t know! What would make you feel like I loved you?”

He’s not sure she understands the weight of that question, but it hits him hard and his steps falter. The last thing he needs is to cry in the middle of Target, but the heat wells up behind his eyes anyway. After a long moment, he says, “I know you love me when you ask me for help. When you set a place for me at the table, and when you’re happy to see me when I pick you up from school.”

Bea nods thoughtfully, taking that all in. Her eyes are steady on his face, seeing more than he wants to show. They’re stopped in the middle of the toy aisle and there are people moving around them, and they really should move, but Bea is rooted to the spot. “Thoughtful things. Right? Like, I’m thinking about you?”

“Yeah,” Finn says quietly, “like you’re thinking about me and want me to be there.”

Suddenly, Bea grins. “Well, that’s good, cause I do want you to be here. And I want Theo to be there! We just gotta figure out how to tell him that with presents. Maybe we can all get sweaters, and they match, and then we take a picture with him in it?”

“Not a bad idea,” Finn laughs, “your dad will be all about that. What about you, Bea? What makes you feel that I love you?” He asks carefully. He knows after six years with Bea and Poe that they love him, that he’s filled the position of a second parent that Bea’s mom never quite could. He’s watched her grow, win races, fail tests, gain friends, have crushes, cry, laugh, and everything in between. He loves her more than he thought possible. Yet, somehow, this question still scares him.

Bea seems to be taking it seriously, though. She tilts her head, studying the array of dolls in front of them like they’re going to open their plastic mouths and tell her the answer.

Finally, she looks back up at him. “That one time, when you yelled at me when I got home from Trina’s house ‘cause I forgot to tell you where I was going.”

Bea was only 10 when that happened, exercising her newfound group of friends from the fifth grade. She’d never come home from school, and Poe was still at work and elbows-deep in a car with no access to his phone, and Finn had been alone in the house until 8 pm.

“Oh,” Finn says, staring at her. She always surprises him, and this does more than most things she says. He smiles weakly, and reaches out for her hand again, “you really scared me, Bea-Bea. I’m glad that you know that I love you, even when I’m scared.”

“That’s how I knew,” Bea says matter-of-factly as she curls her hand into his. She’s so much bigger now than she was then, on the verge of becoming a real teenager. “You wouldn’t have yelled so much if you weren’t worried about me, and you were mad.”

“I was,” Finn smiles and squeezes her hand, “that’s one reason you have a phone now. So you have no excuse not to tell us where you are.” The three of them (well, four now) have a very active group chat, mostly consisting of Poe and Bea arguing and sending each other ridiculous pictures and memes that Poe only half-understands.

“But,” Bea says with another petulant frown, “that doesn’t help us find a good gift for Theo. And it’s only 15 days ‘til Christmas. We’re late.”

“We’re not late yet,” Finn says, “so, I think we get him some toys, maybe a bike. That’s something you can’t really share,” he says before Bea can argue. “What about you dad? What do you think I should get him?”

Bea grins. “I knew you didn’t have any presents yet!”

“Hey, I’ve been busy,” Finn shoots back and grins with her. “And I need your help. You know that.”

“’Cause you’re gonna overthink it until you panic and get him socks like last year?” Bea’s smile is entirely too smug.

Finn groans and pulls her to a halt in front of the Moana section. “I mean. Yes. Basically. I love him and nothing is good enough from him.”

“Except practical socks.”

“Hey,” Finn whines and picks up a Moana doll, “alright, I’ll get him something better. How about you? What do you want?”

“If I say a pony,” Bea puts on her most pleading face, “and that I love you very much?”

“We’re not getting you a pony,” Finn says and sets down the toy to smile at her, “I can get you a toy pony.”

“I don’t even really want a pony,” Bea sighs, with the kind of existential weight in her voice that only a young teenager could muster. “Can you do all my homework for me for Christmas?”

“Nope,” Finn says without even hesitating. “Your education is your responsibility.”

“And figuring out what I want for Christmas is yours,” Bea shoots back. “I have an Amazon wishlist.”

“You’re wonderful,” Finn sighs, “alright. Let’s go get what we came here for. Milk and..?”

“Paper towels and if you see something for dad you’re supposed to get it as long as it’s not socks,” Bea recites. “And a bike. I bet Theo would like that.”

“Yeah, it’s a great idea,” Finn leads her down the aisle, nodding his head. He wants to get Poe something wonderful. Poe something that tells him just how much Finn cares. How much Finn knows him. What their relationship means to him.

He has no idea what that could be.

* * *

“Theo!” Poe calls, half-twisting away from the pasta he’s attempting to stop from boiling over. The oven still has five minutes but Poe has a plan and it’s gonna be just fine and Theo’s gonna love it. “You around, buddy? You wanna help me set the table?”

There’s the sound of feet on the stairs, then Theo swings into the kitchen. His dark hair is messy, too high and the edges aren’t straight anymore. “What are we eating?” he asks, hovering by the door.

He’s so small, the same height Bea was the day she turned 7 years old: Poe can see that from the marking on the doorframe beside him, with Bea’s named scrawled in uneven Sharpie. She’d insisted on writing it herself for the first time, then, and from there on out. The handwriting gets better as she gets taller. At 11, she’d plateaued, and this year, Poe had to remind her to measure herself, and wrote her name for her while she wandered off on her phone.

He is on there, too, and Finn beside him, their names so close that the last ‘n’ in Finn’s name runs over Poe’s slanting P.

Theo is still staring at him with questioning dark eyes.

“Stir-fry,” Poe finally says, remembering the question. Four minutes on the oven now. Finn will be so proud if Poe pulled this off. The scent of Poe’s first attempt at solo-made sugar cookies and gingerbread is covered by the spices in dinner. “Almost ready, and Bea and Finn should be getting home pretty soon.”

Theo nods, staying by the door for a second, then he moves into the room and collects utensils from the drawer by Poe. He’s quiet, and has been since they took him in four months ago, but can get loud when he’s playing with Bea or when he and Poe play video games. He’s slid into their lives perfectly, like a missing piece, a personality that makes their little family fuller and more complete.

A little like Finn, and a little like Poe, and mostly a person all to himself, with dreams that Poe hasn’t quite managed to coax out of him yet but damn, is he trying his absolute hardest. This kid’s gonna be Bea’s co-president one day. Or maybe found a nation all on his own.

“So today, at work,” Poe says, turning back to the stove as Theo carts everything to the table, “someone came in asking me to make their car into a Mario Kart Racer for Christmas. Custom paint and everything. Think we can pull it off?”

Theo looks back at him with bright eyes and a smile starting to form, “ are you gonna do it?”

“The thing is, you’re way better at Mario Kart than I am,” Poe says as casually as he can. “So I thought, there’s no way I can do it without Theo’s help.”

Theo’s smile grows and he nods, “yeah! I can help. What kind of car is it? What color do they like?”

Success. Poe grins. “Why you don’t come with me to the garage tomorrow after breakfast and we can work on it? I think you gotta see this thing firsthand. Maybe we play some Mario Kart tonight for practice.”

“Yeah,” Theo says breathlessly. He watches Poe for a long minute, then turns back to setting the table. He seems happier, just from that.

As Poe is taking the pasta off the stove to strain it, the oven beeps, and then it’s a flurry of adding slightly-wet noodles to his pan full of vegetables and trying to figure out where he put the oven mitts—Theo hands them to him with a very blank expression, like he’s trying not to laugh—and getting the cookies out before they burn.

Poe will never understand how Finn does this with such grace and ease. Maybe it comes from wrangling kids for a living.

It’s worth it for the look on Theo’s face when the cookies come out of the oven, though. Poe grins. “Tonight after we eat we can decorate a practice batch of cookies. Gotta make sure Santa’s not disappointed in our cookie skills.”

“I think we’ll have to practice a lot,” Theo says carefully, glancing between the cookies and Poe’s face.

“Ouch, kid,” Poe sighs, shaking his head as he stirs the pasta into veggies. “That hurts. Right here. In the soul.”

“No!” Theo laughs and then he’s next to Poe. It’s like his version of a hug: he stands by you, no touching but close. “Because, because,” he wrinkles his nose, unable to find the words.

“Oh,” Poe smiles, “I see. The more we practice the more cookies you get to eat? Is that it?”

Theo’s face tinges pink and he ducks his head. “Yes,” he mutters.

Poe squeezes his shoulder very gently and then turns to start serving up dinner. “Good instincts, kiddo. That’s exactly what’s gonna happen. Can’t waste perfectly good practice cookies.” At the last minute, he slides the cookies from their cooling tray into a bag and puts them in the fridge. Let them be a surprise for Finn and Bea.

“I will eat them,” Theo says firmly, trailing after Poe, helping by carrying plates to the table.

Whatever he’s going to say next is interrupted by the front door opening and Bea shouting, “we’re home!” at the top of her lungs.

“Dinner’s ready!” Poe calls back in an equally-loud voice as the excited skitter of claws on tile joins the thud of the front door. “Mostly!”

“What do you mean, ‘mostly?’” Finn asks with a laugh, ducking his head into the kitchen. There’s snow in his hair.

Poe keeps telling him to wear a hat but he refuses. “I mean I still need to cut up a few limes. Was Target crazy?”

“Totally,” Bea pops up next to Finn, grinning wide. She, too, has snow in her hair. “There were like, 800 people in the holiday section, and dad almost got run over by a cart.”

“Bea saved me,” Finn confirms, shuffling around in the front room. Then he pads into the kitchen in socked feet and kisses Poe’s cheek. “Thanks for making dinner. It smells amazing.”

“I can learn,” Poe turns before Finn can move to steal a real kiss, short and sharp. “Glad you didn’t die in Target. Would be sad to have to put that on your headstone.”

“It’s really not the way I want to go,” Finn murmurs, smiling softly at him. “And I can’t leave you with two kids by yourself.”

Poe doesn’t even want to think about that. He steals another quick kiss, wrapping one arm around Finn. “And on Christmas! I’d be a dead man in four minutes flat. Now go sit before this gets cold. I want judgment passed on dinner while it’s hot.”

“Yes, sir,” Finn says, then reaches down to touch Theo’s shoulder gently, “c’mon, buddy. Did you help dad with the cookies?”

Theo glances back at Poe, then shakes his head.

“You let him do it all by himself?” Finn asks, grinning at Poe. “That’s dangerous, buddy. You should help him next time, make sure he doesn’t add salt instead of sugar again.”

“That was one time!” Poe protests as Bea bursts into laughter from the entry hall where she’s taking off her boots.

“It was twice, dad!” She calls. Poe glares at the space where she was.

“Okay, well, one of those times I was very sick and only had to make cookies because someone promised she’d make them for that PTA thing and then flaked on me, and I couldn’t let Brian Harding beat me again. No cookies are not an option.”

“So you sacrifice our children’s tastebuds for a rivalry,” Finn sighs dramatically and helps Theo into his seat before dropping down into his own. “I don’t see why you care what he thinks. He’s a—” Finn bites his lip, then finishes, “he’s not worth your time.”

“That’s exactly why I have to out-dad him,” Poe huffs as he carries his own plate over to the table. Bea, bless her, is already getting drinks for everyone. “So he can know that he’s not worth my time.”

Finn just shakes his head, smiling at Poe.

“You’re better than him anyway,” Bea says firmly.

“He doesn’t think so,” Poe mutters, but he shakes his head and lets it go in favor of watching Finn take a bite. “Good?”

Finn takes his time, carefully chewing the bite before he glances at Poe with a soft smile. “Delicious. I think it’s about time you graduated Finn’s culinary school.”

“Do I get a cap and gown?” Poe grins, probably a little too pleased with himself. “Only took me six years and a bit.”

“Is that what you want for Christmas?” Finn teases, reaching over to squeeze his hand.

“Ugh,” Bea groans, grimacing at them.

“Babe, you’ve been putting up with us for six years,” Poe laces their fingers together just to tease her. “Theo doesn’t mind it.”

Granted, that’s because Theo is unceremoniously shoving food into his mouth with the kind of desperation usually reserved for people breaking New Year’s resolutions, but Poe counts it anyway.

“Yeah, because Theo hasn’t been watching it for six years,” she mutters, stabbing at her food with her fork.

Theo glances at her and shrugs.

“I think Theo just understands that love is love, Bea,” Poe laughs around a bite of noodles. Huh. They are actually pretty good.

Finally, after six years of Finn patiently teaching him how to cook, Poe can effectively make a stir-fry without using a recipe.

And his family is eating it without complaint or teasing, like they actually want to be eating this instead of wistfully imagining what Finn would have made for them.

This is the proudest moment of Poe's life.

* * *

With a soft sigh, Finn looks over what he’s ended up with for Bea and Theo. It’s a good spread, with toys for both of them, a new phone case for Bea, and new sweaters for both of them. Not matching, even though he would love that.

But he still isn’t sure it’s right. At least not for Theo. Bea knows that they love her, that she’s their kid. Theo… he’s not sure.

When they adopted him four months ago, Finn immediately loved the kid. And he knows that he wants to be in Theo’s life forever. It’s just getting Theo to understand that, that this isn’t another temporary home. That he’s a Dameron now.

“Overthinking the presents?” Poe’s hands land on his hips a second before he drapes himself around Finn’s back. “You know the point of presents is to go with your gut.”

Finn turns his face into Poe’s and grips Poe’s arms gently, “that’s your method. I just, I want Theo to be happy here. I dunno if he is.”

“What makes you think that?” Poe pushes a kiss to his cheek. “He seemed pretty happy at dinner. Quiet, but. We can’t all be like me and Bea.”

“I dunno,” Finn mumbles and closes his eyes, leaning back into Poe. He feels safe here, safe and happy and loved. Smiling softly, he turns enough to kiss Poe on the lips, “I’m just worried. But it’ll take time, right? Time to get used to the idea of having a permanent home.”

“And Theo knows what he’s about more than most kids I’ve met,” Poe mumbles against his mouth. “I don’t think he’d’ve said yeah, adopt me, if he didn’t wanna stick around here.”

“I guess,” Finn concedes, “but Bea had the idea, what if we get him a bike? Not that, that presents should be how we show him we love him, but that way it’s like, a thing we can do together.”

Poe squeezes him too-tight all of a sudden, laughing. “That’s a great idea. We still gotta figure out what Bea’s big present is, too. She had that idea?”

“She wants a pony,” Finn tells him with a laugh, “I told her definitely not.”

“What if I said I wanted a pony too?” Poe tugs at him, away from the closet and toward their bed, which neither of them remembered to make that morning.

“Then that can be your thing,” Finn laughs, not helping as Poe leads him back. Instead, he leans into Poe, grinning at him.

“No, no, a pony is a two-parent decision, no exceptions,” Poe tugs again, strain in his voice. “I am trying to hug you.”

Snorting a laugh, Finn twists around and kisses Poe, wrapping his arms around Poe’s shoulders, “better?” he asks as he squeezes Poe tight.

“Thank you,” Poe mumbles. “Was that so hard?”

“So difficult,” Finn groans, pressing kisses over Poe’s cheek and down his jaw. He nudges Poe back until he’s sitting on the edge of the bed, then pushes his fingers into Poe’s hair. It’s longer now, down the back of his neck. “How was your day? I feel like I didn’t see you at all.”

“’Cause you immediately went to the hellscape when you got home,” Poe’s eyes flutter a bit as fingers trail through his hair. “We got that custom job I texted you about.”

“Oh yeah,” Finn laughs and shifts to sit next to him, keeping his face close to Poe’s, forehead resting on his temple, “that’s really cool. And sounds hard.”

“Oh, it’s okay,” Poe flashes him a wide smile, “I called in the professionals. We’re gonna be in good hands.”

“Yeah?” Finn’s hand slips to Poe’s stomach and all the stress of the day and the season seems to fall away. Poe has that effect on him, calming him down, keeping him centered. Poe himself can be kind of a whirlwind, but he’s an amazing rock when he needs to be.

One of his arms drops around Finn’s waist, tugging him in until they’re pressed together in a weird kind of half-hug, legs tangled. “Yup. Theo. Resident expert in Mario Kart, really excited about paint colors. It’s gonna be great.”

“That’s brilliant,” Finn murmurs, smiling wide, “here I am worrying about presents and you’re getting him the best thing ever. He’s going to love that.”

“Yeah, and then a bike is like his own real-life go-cart, kinda,” Poe laughs. “Good joint gift. Go us.”

“Go us,” Finn holds up a hand for him. Without even looking, Poe slaps his hand in a ringing high-five, laughing loud and bright.

“Shit yeah. We’re gonna win Christmas this year.”

“We will,” Finn says firmly, then pulls Poe back onto the bed. “But how about you? What do you want? I’ve been overthinking that too.” Poe flops over, curling into him as easy as anything and pushing his nose into Finn’s cheek so Finn can feel his smile.

“I figured you would,” he mumbles. “If it makes you feel any better, I’ve been overthinking what to get you.”

“I’d say you don’t have to get me anything, but that won’t work,” Finn murmurs, petting through Poe’s hair, “I don’t know… I don’t really need anything.”

“You know me so well,” Poe laughs. “I’m getting you something. I’ve seen a hundred sweaters I thought you’d like but you already have, like, 15 of them.”

Laughing again, Finn nods and squeezes Poe closer to him, “maybe, maybe a flannel or something? Then I could match you.”

“Merry Christmas, love of my life, would you like a shirt that I always wear? That’s how much I love you,” Poe kisses at the edge of his nose. “Yeah, no. I need something more inspired.”

Even after all this time together, Finn’s heart stutters at the words and his smile grows. He can never quite believe how lucky he is. “I don’t know. I, maybe we could take a trip together. Just you and me. In a bit, once Theo is settled in.”

Poe’s eyes go round. “Yeah,” he breathes. “That would be—yes. We should do that. I bet Snap would watch the kids.”

Finn smiles at him, hand resting gently on Poe’s cheek. “Yeah? Then we can, we can save up for that, instead of stressing out about presents for each other.”

“You know I’m still gonna get you at least one thing to open,” Poe murmurs. “Or Bea’s gonna be pissed.”

“Yeah, and I’ll get you something too,” Finn murmurs, nosing against his cheek, “I love you.”

Poe mashes a truly messy kiss to the corner of his mouth. “Love you too, babe. The bike idea making you feel any better about Theo?”

“Yeah, kinda. But Bea’s right, it isn’t really about stuff,” Finn says, wiping off his mouth with a laugh, “it’s about showing him we care. Making him feel that it’s permanent.”

Poe’s fingers curl into his shirt. “Is that what you would’ve wanted?”

“Yeah,” Finn murmurs, his heart clenching, “it’s, it’s hard to believe, you know? Like, like that you really belong somewhere.”

“Family’s important,” Poe’s fingers slip up under his shirt, trailing over the skin at the small of his back. “I get it. Bea gets it, too. She wanted her mom to want her for so long.”

“Yeah,” Finn sighs and closes his eyes, just leaning into Poe, “I’m glad she’s happier now. I, I love our family.”

“And Theo’s gonna love it too.” Poe’s voice vibrates against his skin. “Even if it takes him a bit to get used to the idea.”

Finn kisses him again, soft and gentle and he shifts to lay over Poe, hand slipping behind his neck. Poe and Bea make him feel loved and safe and cared for, and that’s the only reason that he can be that for Theo. He wants to pay it forward, to love someone like they love him, to accept and protect someone. He can only hope that this is Theo’s chance, that he can have it s much earlier than Finn.

The way Poe looks at him says it all, though Poe doesn’t hesitate to tell Finn he loves him at least twice a day. He’s effusive and easy with it, and Bea is learning to be the same way. It took her a little longer, hurt from everything with her mom, but she’s opening up. If she can, then so, hopefully, can Theo.

“I mean,” Poe murmurs through soft kisses, “he has you around to be there for him.”

“And you,” Finn reminds him, nosing against Poe’s cheek, “we make pretty great parents, huh?”

“I would say among the best,” Poe nods very seriously. “Personally. Way better than Brian Harding.”

“Poe,” Finn groans, tugging on his hair, “you and Brian. You really-- you are so much better than him! You don’t need to prove it!”

“Okay, but he doesn’t know that!” Poe protests as he flops back against the covers. “He thinks he’s better than me. And I bet he’s at home with his daughter right now and she’s telling him the exact same thing.”

“Baby,” Finn sighs, crawling over him with a grin, “I think you’re the most amazing I’ve ever met. And I think that Brian Harding is a self-important idiot.”

Poe huffs. His legs drape around Finn’s calves. “You’re required to think that because I kiss you sometimes. Also, I know I’m better than him. I just need him to know it.”

“Poe,” groaning, Finn drops heavily down onto him, “why do you care?”

“Because!” Poe’s arms go around him, too, so he’s attached to Finn like a large, somewhat sexy koala. “He just exudes this… superiority, about everything, and he makes these shitty comments that, I can’t say they’re homophobic exactly but it’s,” he groans. “I know it’s petty. He just bugs me, and I hate that everyone else likes him.”

“Everyone likes you too,” Finn reminds him, kissing over his cheeks, “you’re sweet and kind and handsome and all the other parents stare at you. I’d be jealous if I didn’t know that I get to do this with you and they don’t.”

Poe grins. “Look who’s talking, Mr. Most Handsome Teacher three years running.”

Laughing, Finn kisses him again, “yeah. And we’re the most handsome couple. So,” he grins and ducks down to nip at Poe’s throat.

“So I should make myself a medal and wear it to the next PTA meeting?” Poe lets his head drop back, tightening his legs so they’re braced on Finn’s thighs, pressing.

“If you want to,” Finn mumbles against his skin, his hand slipping up Poe’s stomach between them, “can pin it right to your chest. You’ll look gorgeous.”

Grinning, Poe lets his hands push up further under Finn’s shirt, as far as he can get. “Is it pathetic to wear a homemade award declaring how hot you are?”

“A little,” Finn admits, mouthing over his throat. He can feel Poe’s pulse. “But if that’s what you need…”

“If there were something else around to stroke my ego…” Poe breathes, “maybe I wouldn’t.”

“I’ll tell you how wonderful you are every day,” Finn tells him, fingers slipping down his stomach to the waist of his sleep pants, only to yelp and roll away, curling his knees to his chest when something wet touches his feet. “Pepper!”

Poe jerks up, laughing as Pepper hops up onto the bed at the sound of her name and immediately flops down onto Poe’s chest. “Peps, baby, come on!”

Finn gasps, then falls back with a laugh. “Fine. Thwarted once again. That’s, what, the fourth time this week? It’s either her or Bea or Theo.”

“That vacation is sounding like a better and better idea,” Shoving at her, Poe snorts as she pads around to lick at Finn’s face instead with her usual overexcitement.

Finn lets it happen, petting down her spine, “yep. You, me, a hotel room, and that’s it. Really. That’s all I need.”

“Okay, but it’s gonna be,” Poe rolls over onto his side to join in the kisses, dropping one against Finn’s temple, “a really fancy hotel. Rain shower. Mint on the pillows.”

“King sized bed, soft sheets, fluffy duvet,” Finn sighs, reaching over to pet through Poe’s hair.

“No dogs, no kids,” Poe glances at Pepper, “Sorry hon. We love you. But you have really bad timing.”

“Such bad timing,” Finn groans even has he’s scratching her ears, “alright, I’ll go take her out. Then, um, maybe we take a shower together?”

“Has anyone ever told you your brain is your best asset?” Poe kisses at his ear again, his voice soft. “Among many very, very good assets.”

“You have,” Finn laughs and kisses him again before he slips out of bed, “c’mon, Peps. Time to go outside.”

At the word ‘outside,’ Pepper’s giant ears perk up and she practically flies off the bed after Finn, running between his legs and toward the door.

“Don’t trip your dad!” Poe calls as Pepper yips in excitement. “I need him alive! I have plans!”

Finn shoots him a grin, “I’m excited for these plans. Ah, maybe get ready?” He says and winks before shutting the door behind them and taking Pepper downstairs.

Soft footsteps follow him and soon Theo joins him at the door.

“Hey buddy,” Finn says, smiling at him, “weren’t you in bed?”

Theo nods. He’s still so small, and looks smaller in his pajamas. Poe had bought him these a few months ago, and he hasn’t quite grown into them yet but they’re covered in little hot chocolate mugs and campfires and he loves them. “I’m not anymore.”

“Are you excited about Christmas?” Finn asks. He wants to reach out and touch Theo—six years with Poe has made him more open to touch, more receptive to it and more likely to initiate touch with Poe and Bea and Rey, when he sees her—but he doesn’t. Theo isn’t quite comfortable with him yet. He’s shy, quiet, a lot like Finn, and Finn is always astounded by how much be loves him.

Especially when he seeks Finn out like this. He tilts his head, considering in that way of his, like each word has weight. “I’m excited. And…”

“Yeah?” Finn smiles, watching Pepper playing out in the snow. She’s already done, but Finn wants to take advantage of Theo’s attention before calling her back in.

Theo watches her with solemn eyes, tracking her movements across the backyard. “Maybe I can’t do it.”

“Can’t… do Christmas?” Finn looks at him now, frowning, “why do you say that?”

“…maybe Bea won’t like my present,” Theo clarifies, and finally cranes his head back to look up at Finn.

“Oh,” Finn says softly and drops down to his level, “she’ll love anything you got her, because it’s from you. I promise you that.”

Theo wrinkles his nose. “That’s not true. She wouldn’t like if I wrapped up Pepper poop and gave it to her.”

“I mean,” Finn laughs and holds a hand out for him. After a second’s hesitation, Theo takes his hand, “yeah, probably not poop, but you’re not gonna wrap up Pepper’s poop, right?”

“No,” Theo says slowly, “but what if she thinks about it like it’s Pepper poop?”

“Well, what did you get her?” Finn asks, stroking his thumb gently over Theo’s hand.

“There was a book at the book fair about the ocean,” Theo’s eyes are fixed on Finn’s face. “But it… was a book fair for my grade. Bea is older. And I’m not good at wrapping.”

“That’s very thoughtful, buddy,” Finn tells him with a soft smile, “she’s going to like it. Maybe you can read it with her. That would make it even more special, because you can share it.”

“But what if she doesn’t?” Theo persists, a familiar stubborn tilt settling over his mouth. “What if she thinks it’s stupid?”

“Then I’ll have to talk to her, because that’s a wonderful gift and she should appreciate it,” Finn says softly, “and she loves you, Theo, you’re her brother.”

Theo considers that for a long moment. He still looks like he doesn’t quite believe Finn, but he nods after a while. “Okay. I know she wouldn’t tell me she thought it was stupid.”

“That’s how family works,” Finn smiles and carefully reaches up to touch Theo’s cheek, “you make each other feel happy, especially on special days like Christmas. Bea wants you to be happy, so she’ll love your gift. And I bet you’ll love hers too.”

“But what if she secretly doesn’t love it? And what if I don’t love hers and I can’t hide that and then she’s sad?”

“Then we talk about it. It’s hard to get people you care about stuff. I’ve been worrying about what to get your dad for weeks. I’m, I’m not great at gifts,” Finn laughs, dropping his gaze, “but Poe will always like what I get him, because he likes me. And that’s how it works with you and Bea, too. So, let’s say that she gets you something that you don’t like. Won’t you still be happy that she got you something?”

“Yes,” Theo says immediately. “But… getting people presents on Christmas is just what you do.”

“And liking them is also what you do, because someone cared enough to get you something,” Finn murmurs, squeezing his hand.

“But isn’t that kind of like lying, if you don’t like it?” Poor Theo sounds hopelessly confused, even as his fingers tighten around Finn’s palm.

“Kind of, but you appreciate that they got you something, so you like it, in a way. You like that they got you something, even if you don’t like the thing. It’s, it’s different.”

Theo hesitates. “…it’s the thought that counts? Is that what that means?”

“Exactly,” Finn nods with a small smile, “like, when me and your aunt Rey were younger, we didn’t have much money, so we’d make each other really silly stuff because we couldn’t buy each other stuff. It wasn’t pretty or useful, but we liked it because it was something we could share with each other.”

Theo cracks a tiny smile. “Like what?”

“Like little airplanes made from paper and popsicle sticks, or little goats. Those were my speciality,” Finn laughs, “I think Rey still has one with her.”

“I want a goat,” Theo’s smile widens. “Poe likes planes, right?”

“Poe loves planes,” Finn nods, “you’ve seen all the ones in our room, right?”

Theo giggles, nodding. “You should make him a popsicle plane.”

“Why don’t we make one together?” Finn laughs with him. Nodding again, Theo shuffles a little closer until he’s pressed against Finn in an almost-hug.

“Can Pepper help?”

Finn hugs him loosely, just glad that Theo is opening up to him, that Theo sought him out and wants his help. “I dunno how, but sure. Hey Pepper,” he calls out and she looks up from where her nose was in the snow, then dashes toward them. “Oh no.”

“Incoming,” Theo says dryly, just in time for Pepper to launch herself, snow and all, up the stairs and straight into the two of them.

Finn lets go of Theo to catch her, all wet, stinky dog, and he laughs, “okay, okay, we need to get you dry. Theo, mind grabbing her towel?”

“She smells,” Theo snorts, almost a laugh, and turns around to go fetch Pepper’s little purple towel from the closet by her leash.

“She does,” Finn laughs and takes it from him to wrap Pepper up in the towel, “she can have a Christmas bath. See? That’s a present she won’t appreciate, but she’ll like because then we’ll pet her more.”

“Can we make her smell like mint?” Theo scratches over her ears anyway, laughing when she shakes under the towel.

“Her shampoo just really smells like soap,” Finn sighs, grimacing, “you wanna help me wash her tomorrow?”

Theo nods. “Then she can sleep with me again.”

“She does love that,” Finn finally lets her go and she runs happily into the living room, then back to them, then up the stairs. He watches her with a laugh. “You feeling better, buddy?”

“I’m still kind of worried,” Theo confesses quietly, “but also I can’t go to sleep. Trying didn’t work.”

“C’mon,” Finn holds out his hand for Theo to take again, “I’ll stay with you, alright? You gotta get some sleep so you’ll be ready for Christmas morning.”

Theo looks doubtful, but he nods and curls his hand into Finn’s, trusting him all the same.

Finn takes him upstairs and tucks him into bed. He’s small for a ten-year-old, and seems young for his age, and Finn gently strokes his hair, telling him a nonsense story about Pepper and a her fictional dog friends while the dog in question lies on the floor next to Theo’s bed.

His room is in Poe’s old office, which he never used. They cleared it out two years ago when they got serious about wanting to adopt. Now it’s cozy, even though Theo is still settling into himself and his place in their family.

Eventually, Theo’s breathing evens out. Finn stays for a few more minutes, watching his face, peaceful in sleep, before he kisses Theo’s forehead and walks quietly back to his and Poe’s room.

The room is empty and still until Poe pokes his head out of the bathroom with a soft smile on his face. “He’s out?”

“Yeah,” Finn sighs and strips off his shirt. It smells like wet dog. “He’s worried about his present for Bea.”

Poe huffs out a soft laugh and leans against the doorframe, watching Finn. “What did he get her?”

“A book,” Finn says, settling into his new clothes before dropping down on the bed, “but he thinks it’s too young for her, because it’s for his year. He’s, he’s such a thoughtful kid.”

“Yeah,” Poe breathes. He’s wearing his red-and-green plaid sleep pants, the softest ones he owns and also the most festive. “I’m a little in awe of him, you know? Bea’s gonna love anything he gets her.”

“That’s what I said,” Finn says, wriggling into a new pair of pants, even as his eyes meet Poe’s. “I love him so much, Poe. I just want him to be okay.”

“He will be,” Poe says softly, smiling. “I mean, Bea’s obsessed with him. She talks about him like… ninety percent of the time.”

“Yeah,” Finn laughs and drops back onto the bed, “I love them both. And you. But you know that.”

Poe flashes him a bright smile as he pads over to stand in front of Finn. “I do know that. You smell like puppy.”

“She was playing in the snow,” Finn laughs and hooks his feet around Poe’s thighs. “C’mere.”

“Oh? You wanna talk more about how you love me? ‘Cause,” Poe drops both his arms around Finn’s shoulders, “I kinda wanted to turn the tables here and talk about how incredible you are with him.”

“Yeah?” Finn asks, his heart suddenly thudding hard. He kisses Poe’s cheek messily, “I, I’m trying, with him. I want so badly for him to be happy.”

“I know,” Poe breathes, “he deserves it. You deserve it. We’re lucky we get the chance to be those people for him. He’s lucky to have you. We all are.”

“I’m lucky to have you,” Finn tosses back, nosing against his cheek, “seriously. How did we get so lucky? Two great kids, a great dog, and each other.”

Poe snorts and steals a kiss, lingering there. “I have no idea, buddy. The pessimistic part of me keeps thinking something’s gonna go horribly wrong. Like, a meteor’s gonna crash into the house tomorrow while Bea’s opening that camera, and she’ll get a picture of our last moments.”

“Not the worst way to go,” Finn laughs, hugging him close with both arms and legs, “but I’d rather have a lot longer with you.”

“If I get my way,” Poe murmurs against his cheek, “it’ll be a long, long time. Barring random meteor death. I hope… Theo likes his bike.”

“He’s gonna,” Finn says with a soft smile. He feels sure now, after their talk. Theo understands the thought, and Theo, if he’s anything like Finn was at that age, really needs that thought.

And he is a lot like Finn was at that age: quiet, looking for a place for himself to fit in, a little afraid to put himself into that place in case it turns out he doesn’t fit after all.

Poe nudges him into another kiss, smiling through it. “He will. And Bea will, and as responsible as it’s gonna make me sound, we should get to bed ‘cause you know they aren’t letting us sleep in.”

Finn sighs and nudges Poe to the side, “yeah, you’re right. Tomorrow night, maybe, we can finally have some time.”

“There’s always that vacation,” Poe reminds him as he flops down beside Finn. “Kinda counting on that now.”

“Me too,” Finn noses against him and tugs gently on his hair, “I want you all to myself. At least for a few days.”

Poe groans quietly. His head drops back into Finn’s hands. “That sounds… amazing.”

“We’ll make it happen,” Finn sighs and drags the covers over both of them, “love you.”

“Love you too, babe,” Poe drapes himself around Finn’s side like he always does, mashing his face against Finn’s head. After so long together, half the time they just go to sleep on their own sides of the bed, but if Poe is awake enough he’ll stick himself to Finn and stay there like a burr all night.

* * *

Poe wakes up on Christmas morning to Theo’s wide-eyed face right next to his, braced on his arms folded on the edge of the bed.

It takes Poe’s brain a second to catch up with what’s happening.

Right. Christmas morning.

Theo’s first Christmas with them for real.

“Morning, buddy,” Poe murmurs. One of his arms is trapped by Finn.

“Hi,” Theo breathes, quiet enough not to wake Finn.

“You ready to open your stocking?” Poe asks Theo while his brain tries to catch up.

Theo nods quickly, sinking down a little further so all Poe can see are his eyes. “And pancakes. Can we make pancakes? For Bea and Dad?”

Poe’s heart maybe thuds a little when Theo calls Finn dad. “That is the best idea I’ve ever heard,” he murmurs. “I just gotta get free of your dad. Any ideas?”

“Tickle him,” Theo whispers loudly, his eyes wide.

“Oh yeah?” Poe lifts a hand, wiggling his fingers, and aims it toward Finn. “Like this? Should I do it?”

Theo gasps and ducks behind the side of the bed.

Laughing, Poe dives after him, tickling along Theo’s sides as soon as he reaches him. “You said tickling!”

Theo shrieks and twists around, squirming.

Behind him, Finn sits straight up, “what? Are you okay?”

“Theo said tickling!” Poe laughs, and goes after him for a second longer before relenting when Theo twists away again. “You alright there, buddy?”

Theo’s still giggling as he drops to the floor, nodding.

Finn scoots forward to lean down toward him, “you sure you’re okay?” he asks, voice hoarse.

“He can hold his own against the tickle monster,” Poe says with maybe a little too much pride in his voice. “Maybe I’ve finally found my tickle prodigy. Someone to carry on the skill.”

“Please don’t,” Finn groans, slumping against Poe. “I already don’t trust you. Don’t make me not trust our son.”

Theo’s watching them, smiling softly.

“Your first mistake was getting close,” Poe informs him, and immediately turns on Finn like he’d told Theo he would.

Finn yelps and falls backward on the bed, blankets tangled around his legs. “No! Poe, c’mon,” he curls up in a ball, ineffectively swatting at him.

“I’m just doing what Theo told me to!” Poe drags his fingers along Finn’s sides, laughing. “This is a hit!”

“No,” Finn laughs, pulling the blankets over his head, “Theo, why,” he says, voice muffled by the blanket.

“’Cause it’s Christmas morning, babe,” Poe drops a kiss against his head. “And it’s time for pancakes and stockings.”

When the tickling abates, Finn peeks out from under the covers, smiling, “merry Christmas,” he murmurs, the sits up to kiss Poe soundly, “I’ll make coffee.”

“That’s why I love you. Theo, you wanna run and get Bea?”

He nods vigorously, then dashes out of the room.

Finn noses against Poe’s throat, “no sleeping in, I guess,” he murmurs, kissing Poe’s shoulder.

“Not on Christmas,” Poe drags a hand over his head, smiling softly. “You can stay in bed. I can handle stockings.”

Finn shakes his head, resting on Poe’s shoulder, “I want to be there. I’ll just brush my teeth, then he down.”

“I’ve never seen him so excited,” Poe says through a half-stifled yawn. “That was adorable.”

“Yeah?” Finn laughs, arms looping around Poe’s waist, “good. This will be good. I can’t wait for him to open his presents.”

“Don’t forget to hand Bea the silver one first,” Poe reminds him with a quick kiss. “I’ll hold the vultures off until you get down here.”

“Thanks,” Finn kisses him again then slowly slips off the bed, padding sleepily to the bathroom.

Poe watches him for a second, smiling sleepily, until the door swings half-shut. That’s Poe’s cue to finally shove himself up out of bed, throwing his arms above his head until half his body cracks.

By the time he gets downstairs, both Bea and Theo are in the living room. Bea is still yawning, curled into the edge of the couch with her blanket still draped around her. Theo sits near the tree with his fingers buried in Pepper’s fur. “Theo, you wanna come help with pancakes?”

Theo looks back, then shifts up to his feet and walks quickly over to Poe. Pepper, ever-loyal to her new favorite human, immediately gets up and trots after him, her short tail wiggling in excitement. “Can we have chocolate chips?”

“Yes,” Bea says groggily, “chocolate chips! And syrup!”

“It’s Christmas morning,” Poe drops a hand on Theo’s shoulder and squeezes, “we can absolutely have chocolate chips. Maybe even chocolate syrup?”

“Yes,” Theo breathes, eyes wide and staring up at him. “I want that. Can I help?”

Poe just wants to squeeze him for a second, but Theo isn’t super into that, so he settles for a smile and pressing the spatula into Theo’s little hand. “Lead the way, pancake master. What do we do first?”

“Chocolate chips!” Theo says excitedly, skipping forward into the kitchen.

Poe lets him have a few chocolate chips before he sets to work on the pancake batter.

After a few minutes, he hears Finn’s steps on the stairs, then Finn talking to Bea before he’s in the kitchen, minty fresh breath pressing a kiss to Poe’s cheek. “Much better. What can I do?”

“Coffee,” Poe orders with a grin. “Please and thanks. Need caffeine for paper ripping.”

“On it,” Finn hugs him tight for a second before shifting around the kitchen to the coffee machine. “How’re the pancakes, Theo?”

“Great!” Theo says, flour covering his hands and shirt and also Pepper, a little bit. Finn snorts a laugh, “I can see that. Good job, buddy. Can’t wait to try them.”

“Theo’s teaching me a few tips and tricks,” Poe informs Finn with a smile. “We’re adding double the chocolate chips.”

“Perfect,” Finn shoots him a smile back, “we’ll make a chef of you yet, baby.”

Poe admittedly has to help with the pancakes when they’re pouring them into the pan, but he helps Theo flip a small one and cheers when he manages it.

Once Bea has a cup of coffee drowned in peppermint mocha creamer pressed into her hand she looks much more alert. She plasters herself against Finn’s side while they wait for breakfast to be done.

They make a sweet picture together, Finn’s arm around her side, each holding a mug, each with the same sleepy, but happy look on their faces. Even their pajama pants are the same colors of plaid: red and white, like matching candy.

“Stockings with breakfast?” Finn asks softly, smiling at Poe as he flips one of the last pancakes onto a plate.

“The only way to do it,” Poe agrees. He sets the towering plate aside—Theo and Pepper both are staring at it like they’ve seen the face of god—and spends a few seconds searching for his phone. He finds it lodged behind the bowl of pancake batter, spackled with flour.

Raising his phone, Poe snaps a picture before Finn and Bea notice him and ruin it.

Unfortunately, his phone still makes that clicking camera noise.

“I look like death, dad,” Bea whines, and buries her face in Finn’s shirt. Poe snaps another picture just to make her groan.

“I need memories,” he laughs. “There’s a lot more where that came from.”

“Just crop me out of this family,” Bea mumbles. Poe blows them both an obnoxious kiss as Theo giggles.

Their tree is a glittery thing, settled in the corner of the living room with some branches sticking in front of the TV. Poe had made do with a tiny shitty plastic one until last year, when they’d finally gotten a real tree because Pepper kept throwing up plastic bits from the small branches.

This year, it’s covered in lights and the small collection of ornaments he and Finn have managed to amass, plus several new additions, notably some salt-dough ornaments Theo’s class made and one very delicate glass Santa that Poe’s uncle in Guatemala who he hadn’t known existed sent wrapped in six layers of bubble tape.

And of course, covering the tree’s glittery gold skirt is a small army of presents.

Poe carts their breakfast into the living room and ignores the worried looks Finn shoots the tilting stacks of pancakes as he slides it all onto their coffee table. Pepper, hoping for treats, follows right at his heels and almost manages to trip him until Bea calls her over.

When they’re all settled into the living room (and Theo has spent a second looking hilariously torn about what he needs to pay attention to: a sock full of presents or his chocolate-covered breakfast) Poe pockets his phone and drops down onto the couch beside Finn. “Time for energetic kids to do the work. Anybody wanna bring Finn his stocking?”

“I can get it,” Finn says, standing up with a groan, but before he can get very far, Theo’s already dashed to get both Finn and Poe’s stockings, holding them up for Finn. “Thanks, Theo,” he says quietly, taking them both and dropping a quick kiss to Theo’s forehead.

Theo just smiles, then darts back to his plate to cut out a truly massive bite of the two pancakes he’s stacked there.

Bea, on the other hand, is already tearing into her stocking. “Candy!” She squeaks, holding up a Santa-shaped chocolate. Since Finn moved in, candy has grown more and more scarce in the Dameron household.

Poe grins at Finn. “Going soft, huh?”

Finn shrugs a shoulder, leaning into Poe, “it’s Christmas. And she loves chocolate.”

“Soft,” Poe repeats as he tugs a bar of chocolate out of his own stocking. There’s one in Finn’s, too, the darkest kind Poe could find because Finn cares about things like health and antioxidants and has slowly but surely managed to convince Poe and Bea to give a shit about them, too. They’re working on Theo, who has by now eaten through both his pancakes, grabbed a third from the stack, and not even touched his stocking.

Finn unwraps a pair of bright purple socks and laughs, tossing them at Poe. “You bought me the same pair last year!”

“Yeah, and I noticed that you conveniently lost them,” Poe tosses them back, “so I got you a new pair!”

“Thanks,” Finn smiles at him, catching the socks and kissing Poe again. He glances over at the kids to where Theo is finishing his fourth and last pancake. “Hey Theo, you know you have a stocking too. Be there’s some good stuff in there.”

“He’s fueling up,” Bea says when she’s finished cooing over her new chapstick pack (she keeps losing hers and stealing Finn’s.)

Theo nods and stuffs a last, very large bite of pancake into his mouth, making his cheeks bulge out like a chipmunk’s. Pepper has given up trying to stay by Bea and is now on her belly beside Theo on the rug, her eyes huge and begging.

“Here,” Finn nudges the stocking toward him with one foot before shifting back to take Poe’s hand.

Poe is more than a little nervous, for some reason, watching Theo unpack his bulging stocking. They’d made it together earlier this month with a kit bought for way too much money at Michaels that Poe bought on impulse because Theo didn’t have one. It has a little snowman on it with a glittery golden top hat, courtesy of Bea.

But of course, for all their nerves, they know this kid: Theo’s stocking is full of chocolate, a pack of Skittles, some new colored pencils, and some sparkly stickers after Finn had noticed him staring longingly at Bea’s journal one day. The journal itself is wrapped under the tree.

Theo takes each thing out with the kind of reverence usually reserved for delicate glass, lifting it and turning it over with wide eyes. He smiles at the stickers and immediately opens them to put one on Pepper’s head. She doesn’t even protest.

“We did good,” he murmurs against Finn’s ear, barely above a whisper.

“We did,” Finn agrees, leaning into his side, a soft smile on his face. Even Bea is watching, surrounded by candy wrappers and her new things.

When all their stockings are unpacked, Poe makes the executive choice to turn on the cheesiest Christmas Spotify playlist he can possibly find, grinning at Finn’s tiny groan. Finn, of course, has been hearing carols for a month now during all their music lessons. Poe helped out with one or two.

“Presents?” Poe asks with a grin, watching Theo.

“Yes!” Bea and Theo shout in unison, loud enough to startle Pepper up from her place on the grund with a matching yip. Both kids look at each other and burst into giggles.

Finn laughs too, and says, “Bea, can you pick out one for Theo and dad?”

Bea practically dives for the tree.

“Catch!” Bea calls to Theo, tossing him the little purple-wrapped journal. The paper crinkles a bit as he catches it, but he manages to grab it out of the air. Poe gets a silvery one thrown at him, wrapped haphazardly and therefore definitely from Bea even though it says Santa on the tag. Bea brings one over for Finn, too: a lumpy thing that Poe had wrapped a few weeks ago when Finn was at a game.

Theo’s staring at the wrapped journal, and slowly he unwraps it. It’s careful and methodical, his fingers dipping into the corners and pulling gently at the tape until the wrapping paper falls off in one folded sheet. The cover is the same forest green that his bedsheets are, and he stares at the little book in silence.

After a minute, he pushes himself up and walks over to Finn and Poe, not quite looking at them as he says, “thank you.”

“I had a journal when I was a kid,” Poe says quietly. “Helped me figure a lot of stuff out. Plus, you can use those stickers, make it all fancy.”

“Yeah,” Theo says quietly, then looks up at them with a bright smile. Behind him, Pepper pounces on the carefully-removed wrapping paper sheet with a tiny growl, shaking her head back and forth, and Bea bursts into laughter.

“You know that’s not all there is under there,” Finn says, cradling his own gift to his chest, “I think you should go get another one for you and Bea-Bea.”

Theo turns with an excited gasp and dashes toward the tree.

* * *

Watching Bea and Theo excitedly open presents fills Finn’s chest with joy, and having Poe next to him, holding his hand, kissing his cheek: it’s perfect. This Christmas morning is perfect and he can’t wait to see Theo’s face when he opens his new bike helmet, or Bea’s when she gets her camera, something she’s been wanting for ages.

And he’s excited for Poe to open the standing mixer he got him, a testament to Poe’s increasing love for baking.

Bea helped him figure that one out, though she’d banned him from buying Poe an ironic “kiss the cook” apron because “you don’t need any more excuses.”

Theo can’t seem to believe that the small army of presents Bea has piled around him is actually for him. It’s a fuller Christmas than the last few years have been: Finn got a raise at work, and Poe’s garage is doing better than it ever has thanks to a marketing plan they finally put together last year.

But his eyes are ripped away from his presents when Bea picks up a silver-wrapped book. His breath catches.

She smiles at him, holding it up and shaking it, “lemme guess… a new barbie?”

Theo’s eyes go wide. He shakes his head quickly.

“How about… a puppy!” She laughs and then makes quick work of the wrapping paper. Her smile grows at the sight of the book, flipping it over and reading the back. “Cool, fish!”

“Who’s that from?” Poe asks, though he knows perfectly well. His phone is back in his hand.

“Theo,” she grins at him, “thanks. This is really cool. I bet there’s some pages with sharks that I can scare dad with.”

Theo’s vaguely terrified expression relaxes into a small smile. “You like it?”

“I love it,” Bea says firmly, then holds out an arm for him, if he wants to take the hug. Theo hesitates for a bare second, then scoots over and pushes himself under Bea’s arm. She hugs him close for a second. “Thanks so much. We can read it together.”

“Yeah,” Theo agrees with a tiny smile.

Poe’s camera sound goes off beside Finn. When he looks over, Poe’s eyes are very slightly red at the corners. Finn slips a hand onto Poe’s back and leans into him, “our kids are pretty great, huh?”

“I’m crying about a fish book,” Poe mumbles. “Christmas is a damn rollercoaster.”

Finn presses a soft kiss to his cheek, “you’re crying because our kids love each other.”

“That too,” Poe admits, and sniffles a little as he leans back into Finn’s arm.

Bea squeezes Theo tight one more time before she finally lets him go to grab another present for him, pushing it into his hands with an eager smile. Pepper rolls around in the pile of wrapping paper right beside them in a her own version of crinkly heaven.

Poe pushes a kiss against Finn’s ear, one arm draped around him, a smile fixed on his face.

Bea actually shrieks when she opens her big present. It’s a smaller box, and had gotten shoved near the back of the tree. “You didn’t!” She lifts out the camera it like it’s made of glass, her eyes round and wide. “You didn’t, you didn’t, oh my god.”

Laughing, Finn hugs Poe tighter. He can’t seem to find any other way to express how happy he is aside from just being close to Poe.

“It comes with a condition,” Poe tells her with a wide smile.

Bea glances up.

“You gotta enter that competition this year. No more talking yourself out of it.”

She stares at him for a minute, then nods vigorously. “Yeah. I’ll do it. And I’ll win,” she’s grinning and she runs over to them and throws her arms around both of them. “Thank you thank you!”

Laughing, Finn hugs her tight, “you’re welcome, sweetheart.”

“Love you, baby,” Poe squeezes his arms around both of them, pressing kisses against the top of Bea’s head. “You wanna test it out?”

“Yeah!” She laughs, and then the camera is on and pointed at them. Finn laughs and turns into Poe, squeezing his hand.

Then her camera is on Theo, who’s grinning and holding a big wrapped box.

“That thing’s bigger than you are, buddy,” Poe laughs. “What d’you think it is?”

“I don’t know,” he says, shaking his head.

“Only one way to know,” Finn says with a laugh, “go on and open it.”

Theo glances up at them again, like he’s asking for permission, and Bea laughs.

“Go for it!” She slips down onto the floor, still aiming the camera at him.

He’s quicker about it now, excitement clear as he rips open the paper, then gasps as he stares at the new helmet. He looks at it, then at Finn and Poe, then at the helmet.

“That’s just part of it,” Finn says, shifting to his feet, “the rest is in the garage.”

With that, Theo is up and he dashes to the door.

“Shoes!” Finn shouts after him with a laugh before following him out.

Laughing, Poe ducks to grab Theo’s shoes on the way. Theo has stopped in the doorway, practically vibrating with excitement to get into the garage.

“Here you go, buddy,” Poe hands him his sandals. It’s like he handed Theo a golden ticket: he immediately drops, shoves them onto his feet, and then bolts for the bike.

They’d bought a giant bow for it at the same time, and it’s absolutely worth it for the look on Theo’s face.

Laughing, Finn grasps Poe’s hand again. “So worth it,” he murmurs and turns his face into Poe’s throat. He just wants to press close to Poe and kiss him and hold him, and it’s like those first few months of living together all over again. It feels like a second honeymoon, only they’ve been together for six years and have two kids.

Poe’s lips land against his head, lingering there for a long moment while Theo runs his hand over the handles.

The bike still has training wheels, of course, and they have plans to teach him to ride it once the weather gets warmer.

Somehow, they managed to find a teal-green one that was perfectly his size, with little pom-pom tassels on the handles in silver and gold. It’s quite classy for a kid’s bike.

“It might be too cold to ride it,” Finn says, lingering at the door, “but promise we’ll take it out as soon as we can. Family bike rides once the snow melts.”

Bea laughs behind them, “I’ll teach you!”

“Thank you,” Theo says from where he’s standing next to the bike, jaw slack in awe.

“You’re very welcome,” Finn says and holds Poe’s hand tighter. His heart hurts.

Poe pushes another kiss against his cheek. “I think there are a couple presents left, right? I know Santa left at least one more for Bea.”

“And there’s at least one more for you,” Finn reminds him with a smile. “Hey, Theo, let’s go finish out the presents, alright?”

He nods, and after gripping the handlebars for another minute, he skips after them back into the house. Finn wraps an arm around his shoulders and for once, Theo leans into his side. Finn wants to say something about it, but keeps his lips shut. He doesn’t want to ruin the moment.

The click of Bea’s camera is welcome, though.

“Anyone want hot chocolate?” Poe calls as they troop back through the house.

“Me!” Bea calls out, echoed by Theo’s higher voice and a yip from Pepper that makes them all laugh.

“Pepper can’t have any,” Theo says quietly. “Right?”

“No, but I think she would like a Christmas treat,” Finn smiles, “why don’t you help dad get her one?”

Theo smiles. “I know where they are,” he murmurs, and darts off toward the kitchen.

When they all reconvene in the living room, and Pepper has begged enough for her treat, which she’s now gnawing to bits from her wrapping paper, throne, Bea brings out a present that wasn’t under the tree before, which she presses into Theo’s hands.

Poe, hot chocolate in hand, tugs Finn close. “D’you know what she got him?”

“Nope,” Finn shakes his head, watching intently.

“My heart might explode,” Poe mumbles. His phone is trained again on the two of them.

Very carefully, Theo slips his fingers along the creases in the paper, breaking open the tape. Halfway through, Bea snorts and says “Just rip it!” Theo looks up at her, pauses, and tears open the last flap.

Poe snaps a picture of Bea’s face. She can’t look away from Theo’s.

“It’s a science kit!” She says, a little too fast. “You can do experiments and make slime and stuff, you’re gonna start learning about it soon.”

“That’s so cool,” Theo breathes, holding up the box to show Poe and Finn.

“That is,” Finn agrees, picking up the last big present under the tree and setting it on the coffee table for Poe. “It’s been a while since we had slime in the house.”

“We can do it together!” Bea says, and grabs him up in another hug before Theo really knows what’s happening.

His arms go around her again, though.

Poe squeaks.

Finn laughs and snaps up Bea’s camera to take a quick picture of them. Then he glances at Poe with a wide grin.

“This is the best Christmas ever,” Poe declares loud enough for all of them to hear. Bea squeezes Theo a little closer, pushing a messy kiss against his head before she lets him go.

Bea’s final present is a jacket she’s been wanting, and she shrieks about that, too, as grateful as ever for everything she’s given. Theo gets a sweater, and a Lego set, and Poe hands Finn a package with a wide grin that’s a sweater of his own, suspiciously close to the design on Theo’s.

“I couldn’t resist,” he tells Finn, and then doesn’t stop pestering him until he puts it on.

Shrugging it over his shoulder, he holds out a hand for Theo and they pose as Bea snaps another picture of them.

“Poe, you should open yours,” he says, giddy as he tugs Theo against his side, who’s reading the back of the Lego box excitedly.

Poe glances up at him. “The giant one?”

“Yep,” Finn smiles at him, not moving even though he wants to. There’s something about watching his family open new things with excitement, excitement that he helped cause, that makes him happy. He used to have nothing, and have almost no one to share what little he had with. Now he has enough to have the Christmas that he always watched on TV.

Poe smiles and leans over to kiss at his knee before scooting toward the tree. Bea hefts the massive thing toward him before he gets all the way over, and he ends up cross-legged in the middle of a sea of wrapping paper, looking like Theo with his eyes wide and his hands hovering over the bow. “What’d you get me? Is it a pony? Tell me it’s a pony.”

“Nope. No ponies for this family,” Finn reminds him. Excitement thrills through him.

“Killjoy,” Poe accuses with only affection in his voice. Like his daughter, he tears through the paper without a care for neatness, dragging a giant strip off the logo with a tiny gasp. “Finn. No way.”

“Yes way,” Finn laughs and hugs Theo tighter. A pastel orange standing mixer stares back at Poe from the box. “Thought it could help with your cookie making endeavors.”

“These are so,” Poe breathes, staring down at it, “When did you even…”

He shrugs a shoulder. “Christmas magic,” he says, even though he bought it last week in an E-Bay auction as panic about presents set in.

“You in cahoots with Santa?” Poe asks as he tears the rest of the paper off.

“He and I are best buds,” Finn laughs, “you like it?”

Dragging a hand over the box, Poe stares down at the mixer for a moment longer, then looks up, beaming. “I love it. I love you.”

“I love you too,” Finn tells him and hugs Theo again, who looks between them, then back at the Lego. He sighs, relaxing into the couch. “I guess that’s it. Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas!” Bea laughs, already flicking through the pictures she’s taken.

“Merry Christmas,” Poe echoes. “Love all of you. But, actually, I have one more present.”

Bea perks up, clearly excited.

“Really?” Finn’s brows rise, watching him. “Alright. What d’you have, buddy?”

Poe smiles softly and shifts, setting his mixer aside. “It’s for you, actually.”

“Poe,” Finn smiles at him and sits up slightly. There’s nothing left under the tree, at least that he’s seen, and there’s nothing that Poe’s mentioned to him.

“And the thing is,” Poe shifts forward, but stays on the carpet, his legs folded under him, “you can, you don’t have to take it.” His hand slides back out of his pocket, and there’s a tiny silver box in his fingers now. “But we’ve talked about it for about a year, and today I haven’t stopped smiling since I woke up, so.”

Finn glances at the box, then at Poe, then at the box again. His breath catches. “Is that..?” He asks, his arm slipping from around Theo and he drops down to the floor in front of Poe.

Poe flips the lid off the box, biting at his own lip. “Yeah,” he breathes. “It is.”

Inside the box, glinting against black fabric, is a gold ring set with tiny white gems that glitter in the light from the Christmas tree.

Poe’s throat works as he swallows, hard, and shifts even closer, holding Finn’s gaze. “We’ve been talking about it for a while and I was kinda planning to wait and not do this on Christmas, but, it’s time. I love you so much, and I wanna do this every year for the rest of time if I can help it, and I want to be married to you more than Bea wants a pony, which I know is a lot. I dunno what we’d do without you. So, Finn Williams, on Christmas, with the dulcet tones of bad carols behind us, uh,” He pauses. “Marry me?”

Finn’s heart is in his throat and he can’t see anything except for Poe, his face bright and nervous in the light of the tree. It’s like all the love and joy he’s been feeling all morning swells in him and then his arms are around Poe and he kisses Poe’s cheek and ear and neck before holding Poe’s face in his hands and gasping, “yes,” kissing him hard on the lips.

Behind them, Bea is definitely shrieking a little, and Poe’s arms are around him, squeezing as tight as humanly possible as he laughs against Finn’s mouth. “God, I love you so much.”

“I love you,” Finn gasps, pressing his face into Poe’s shoulders. His face is wet and his body is shaking and they’ve talked about this, but somehow he didn’t think it would actually happen, that Poe would actually want to marry him, after everything he’s been through.

Even though they have a kid together, a car together, they’ve shared their lives for six years. “Thank you, I love you, I want to spend my life with you and marry you and make us a whole family of Damerons.”

“Thank you,” Poe breathes through kisses, peppered over Finn’s cheeks. “I had a whole plan but I couldn’t wait. I can’t wait.”

“This is perfect,” Finn breathes, holding him tight, smiling bigger and brighter that he has all day.

“It is totally perfect,” Bea’s arms, too, are suddenly around Finn’s other side. “He’s been stressing out about this for like two weeks.”

Finn laughs and leans into her, kissing her forehead, “is this what that’s all been about? Baby,” he sighs, grinning at Poe, “how could I say anything else?”

“I figured you’d say yes,” Poe admits with a tiny smile, “but I had all this… stuff in my head that I wanted say, and I couldn’t figure out what it was. How to say it. You’re the only person who does that to me.”

“You said it perfectly,” Finn breathes, keeping them both close for a second before he looks around to Theo who’s still sitting on the couch, staring at them. He waves him over, “c’mon, buddy. Family hug.”

Theo stays still for a second longer, then shifts off the couch and moves over to them. Both Poe and Finn reach out and pull Theo in until they’re just a tangle of limbs on the floor, surrounded by wrapping paper and presents, surrounded by family and love.

**Author's Note:**

> We wrote StL Christmas fluff, because this is where we're at in the world right now. Happy Holidays and Happy Almost Last Jedi Day, y'all!


End file.
